Chicken
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture. This article deals with whole chicken. Other parts can be found at drum sticks, chicken breast, chicken thighs, chicken wings and chicken liver. Chickens have dark meat which is a bit more fatty and flavourful, and white meat, which is leaner has a fairly neutral flavour. Chicken meat is prepared to a core temperature of . Pre-preparation of chicken To prepare a chicken for cooking, it needs to be killed, plucked and dressed. Killing it is usualy done by either chopping off its head, or snapping its neck. Plucking it is the process of removing the feathers and the dow. Dressing it is removing the bits that aren't part of the chicken when you buy it at the store. Killing a chicken Chickens are usually killed by either chopping off its head, or snapping its neck. Snapping it's head is the most common method. It is important that when you do this you are in the correct mindset. You don't want to cause unnececary stress, and you want to get it right in one go, to minimise the suffering inflicted on the bird. Hold the chicken by its legs, at about chest hight with one hand, and with the other hold the chicken by the head, it's neck either between your thumb and index finger, or index and middle finger. Pull the chickens head down and twist it back in one swift motion. You will feel a snap when you break its neck. The chicken is now dead. The dead chicken will start flapping its wings uncontrolled instantly, or when you release the head. keep holding it by it's legs until it stops flapping. This should take about 30 second. You can optionally drain the chicken of some of it's blood now, by cutting the jugular. This is easiest by hanging the animal by it's feet, and with a sharp knife cutting across the neck. It is possible to do this by carefully putting a knife insides the animals beak, and cutting across. Do not cut through to the back of the neck. After killing the animal, you can hang it by its legs for up to two days in a cool place. If you choose to hang it, it is not needed to drain it. Plucking a chicken Plucking a chicken is the process of removing the feathers and dow from the chicken. Dunking the chicken in a bucket of hot water for about a minute will make it easier, as the fat that holds the feathers in place becomes softer. First, remove the large feathers from the wings, by simply pulling them down. It is possible to do this a few feathers at a time, but be careful not to pull out too many at the same time, because this may tear the skin. When the wings are plucked, continue with the breast, legs and neck. When there are only a few hairs left, it is possible to sear those off with an open flame, or possibly a blowtorch. If you choose to sear off excess feathers, make sure you don't sear the same place for too long, or you'll start cooking the chicken before you have even started cooking chicken. Dressing a chicken The plucked chicken still needs to be dressed: The parts that you don't need need to be removed. This is technically the most difficult part. It means removing the innards, the head and the feet. This can be done in any order. Remove the head by first cutting the skin around the neck about 5 cm up from the body, and pushing the skin back towards the body so you can access the neck as low as possible. Remove the head as close to the body as you can. A pair of pruning shears is a good tool to do this, but it is also possible with a cleaver or heavy kitchen knife, which gives you a little less precision. Pull the skinsleave you pushed back over the body back up, and fold it inward, into the now created cavity. Remove the feet by clipping, cleaving or cutting them off at the knee joint. Removing the innards is the most difficult part. Cut into the chicken at the tip of the breastbone, and cut down in the direction of the anus. Cut out a circle around the anus, about 2 cm in diameter. It is possible to tie the anus with a piece of string to prevent the spilling of any excrement. Reach into the chicken with your hands from either end, and loosen the membranes that hold the chickens innards, and push or pull everything out the rear end, and try not to crush, rip or break anything. Make sure to get the heart and the windpipe. The heart will feel like some lumps at the top of the chest. Pull it out. The windpipe is the pipe at the top of the breastbone. It's a little harder to pull out. Gripping it with a tea towel may help. Clean your chicken, by washing the in- and outside thorrowly. Your chicken is now in the state that you would find it in at the store. Marinating chicken A chicken can be marinated before cooking. This adds to the flavour and tenderness of the chicken. Marinate chicken between 2 hours and 48 hours. To marinate your chicken, loosen the skin from the chicken with your fingers, and try to spread the marinare under the skin. Try to get the marinade everywhere, including across the legs and the bottom. Try not to move the skin too much, and try to put the skin back as smoothly as possible. Roasting chicken Whole chicken is typically prepared by roasting it. It is often accompanied with roast (root) vegetables and roast potatoes. Sometimes chicken is poached between 30 minutes and 3 hours before roasting. This results in more tender and moist meat, but a less crispy skin. The higher the temperature at which the chicken roasted, and the lower the amount of moisture/steam, the crispier the skin becomes, but the dryer the meat. At an oven temperature of , it will take about 80 minutes to cook a raw chicken to it's core temperature of . References Headline text